An Old Friend
by Kathrine375
Summary: New chapter is up. Short, and not the best. I've been going through some stuff so please don't expect a loot from this
1. home coming

January 3, 2012. Toronto

Wayne Carter walks up the first of three flights of stairs at an apartment complex. He runs his fingers through his black fur. Second flight. Was this the right complex? Third flight. He walks down the hall to the other side of the complex. There it was apartment 132. "This has got to be it". He says to himself while dusting off his black jacket. He looks at small piece of paper with an address scrawled on it.

"Come on you dumb apes". He hears coming from inside the apartment. "You want breakfast? You gotta' catch it".

"Halo 3". Wayne says to himself. "Yep, this is it". He crumples the piece of paper and knocks on the door, hoping that he would soon be reunited with his two best friends. There is a sudden pause in the videogame noises. He listens to the footsteps come across the room beyond the door until he hears the sound of the doorknob moving. He fixes his red and black scarf and smiles as the door opens to a pink furred feline in grey sweatpants and a black tank-top. "Hey Aeris". He says with a small smile.

Aeris looks at Wayne with a surprised face. "Wayne?" she asks, looking him over. Her face suddenly brightens and she playfully slaps Wayne in the side of the head. "You leave for five years and all you say is hey?" She hugs him and drags him inside by his arm. Upon entering his friend's apartment he sees two couches, one covered in blankets directly facing an entertainment center and another to the first's right facing the door. Wayne looks over the entertainment center. He notices the T.V showing the unmistakable pause menu of Halo 3. An active X Box 360 slim to the left and a PS3 to its right.

"Leo, wake up we've got company!" Aeris yells down the hall. Wayne hears a loud thud followed by an equally as loud moan from somewhere in the apartment. Shortly after a smoky grey and white colored cat stumbles out of the door farthest down the hall and into what Wayne assumes is a bathroom.

"Leo? You two are roommates?" Wayne asks a small grin on his face.

"Yeah." She says, suddenly looking upset. "It's nice living with Leo, but it's like…" She trails off, thinking of something to say. She gives a quiet giggle. "It's like when Ghost died in Modern Warfare 2, it just feels empty without_ you_." She walks closer to Wayne and embraces him, catching him off guard.

Aeris buries her face into her friend's neck. "I missed you so much." She says, hugging him closer.

Wayne returns the hug and kisses Aeris's forehead. "I missed you to, bud. I'm sorry that I left so suddenly, my parents jumped me with the idea of moving. The worst part of it was that we had just started dating…"

"It's ok." Aeris interrupts. "I enjoyed the little time we _did_ have together." She sighs and rests her head on Wayne's shoulder.

"So did I." Wayne says, loosening his hold on his pink friend so that he could look her in her eyes. He can't help but getting lost in them and there beautiful shade of blue.

"Who is it"? Leo asks while sleepily rubbing his eyes. Wayne jumps at the sound of his voice. Leo looks over at Wayne and freezes. "Oh." He says with an exited look on his face. "Wayne? Your back"? He asks.

"Yep". Wayne says back while he and Aeris let go of each other. "I'm done with school and I decided to move back to Toronto. It was nice being back in Italy but after living here for so long it was hard to stay." He folds his scarf and puts it in his back pack. "That and I missed you two."

Aeris walks into the kitchen and begins to pour three cups of coffee. "So where are you staying?" Leo asks as he and Wayne move over to the non-blanketed couch. Aeris hands a cup of coffee to her friends and keeps the last for herself. She moves a blanket off the other couch and drapes it over her lap after sitting down and crossing her legs.

Wayne sips his coffee and turns to Leo. "Well, I was going to stay with my sister but her and her boyfriend came to visit in Italy and I have issues with him. So I'm looking for an apartment. Until then I'm staying in a hotel."

Aeris looks at Leo and then at Wayne. "I'll look around for an apartment if you want, that way it won't take as long."

"Yeah, that would be great. Thanks bud." Wayne says to his blanketed counterpart.

The three friends finish their coffee. After exchanging phone numbers and a bit of small talk Wayne heads back to his rental car. He lets out a sigh and rests his head on the steering wheel. After a few minutes he starts the car and heads to his hotel. He hangs up his jacket and flops down on the bed.

"What a day." He says quietly to himself. After about a half an hour he doses off…


	2. Flashbacks

September 24, 2006 3:35 PM

Leo walks down the street to his house with his hands in his sweat shirt pockets. Wayne was his friend, but how could he do this to him? He recaps what just happened. He walked to Aeris' house to give her some flowers for her birthday. When he went to knock on the door, but before he did he looks in the window. Only to find his to best friends, Wayne and Aeris, kissing in her living room. It was no secret that Leo liked her, and the only person he ever told was Wayne. How could he betray Leo like that? Leo walks into his house and slams the door behind him. He walks past his mother and father on the way to the kitchen.

"Who are the flowers for?" his mother asks playfully. "You're girlfriend?" Leo slams the flowers into the trash can and walks up to his room. His mother looks to her husband and then continues reading her book.

Leo slams his bedroom door. He tears off his sweat shirt and flops on to his bed. He closes his eyes and lets out a long sigh. He had been Wayne's friend since Wayne had moved to Toronto from Italy during their 8th grade year. He thought he could trust Wayne when he told him that he liked Aeris. He remembers asking Wayne what he thought of her after he told him. "She's a nice girl, I would date her if she asked me to, but I think you should be with her." Wayne's voice echoes in Leo's head. He turns to his night stand and grabs the picture of Wayne, Aeris and himself. He looks at it for a moment then hurls it a crossed the room. After what he had seen, he was glad that Wayne was leaving.

September 24, 2006 3:20 PM

Wayne knocks on his friends' door. After a few moments of waiting the door opens to larger black and grey cat, Aeris' father. "Ah, Wayne. It's good to see you. You looking for Aeris?" he asks, clapping his hand on Wayne's shoulder.

"Yeah." He says pulling a small black box from his pocket and handing it to Aeris' father. "I wanted to give her this necklace for her birthday." He opens the box revealing a small gold triforce shaped pendant on a gold chain. "I wanted to get her something special." Wayne says taking the box back.

Aeris' father smiles and pats Wayne on the back. "She's upstairs in her room." He says with a chuckle.

"Thanks Mr. Scott." Wayne says as he turns and walks to the stairs. "Wayne." He turns and looks at Mr. Scott. "Call me Mike." Wayne smiles and heads up the stairs. Wayne knocks on his friends' bedroom door. He hears the unmistakable tune of I write sins not tragedies by Panic! At The Disco. Aeris opens the door and pulls him inside. Wayne hugs her. "Happy birthday bud." He tells Aeris as he pulls away from her.

"Thanks Wayne." She sits on her bed. "Wayne, I need to talk to you about something." She starts.

"I need to talk to you about something, too." He says, ears drooping. "Ok, you go first." Aeris says as she slides back on her bed and crosses her legs. Wayne sits on the end of the bed. "Aeris, you and Leo have been the best friends a guy could have." He starts. "What do you mean by _have been_?" Aeris asks. "It's not easy to tell you this, Aeris but my parents decided that we're moving back to Italy." Wayne says while lowering his head into his hands.

Aeris looks at Wayne with her mouth slightly open and a tear rolling down her face. She leans into Wayne and starts crying a bit more heavily. Wayne wraps his arm around her. "Please don't cry. You know I can't stand you crying, remember when Jake Brighton broke up with you?" She looks at him and smiles. "You went to his house and beat the shit out of him." She says. Wayne wipes a tear from her face. "It won't be for a couple of months." He smiles at her. She returns the smile and wipes the remaining tears from her face. Wayne stands up and grabs Aeris' hand. They go down stairs and sit on the living room couch.

Aeris turns to Wayne. "Now I need to tell you something." She says as Wayne go's for the box in his pocket. "Just wait a minute bud, I got one more thing I got to do." He stands up to get a better grip on the box. "Fuck this." She says before wrapping her arms around Wayne and kissing him. Wayne's eyes widen then close as he slowly wraps his arms around Aeris' waist. Aeris lets go of Wayne and pushes him onto the couch, only to throw herself on to him and continue kissing him.

"_I'm going to hell." _Wayne thinks to himself he lowers his hands from Aeris' waist to her hips. Then he realizes what he is doing. He knows that he broke a promise to his best friend, but he had never felt better. He had feelings towards Aeris but he hadn't told her because of his promise to Leo. He knew that Leo had never forgiven him for this if he found out. But honestly, he didn't care. He opens his eyes and all he can see is Aeris' beautiful blue eyes. And that's the last thing he sees until Aeris lets him up.


	3. A loss, and a victory

January 4th 2012, 11:25 AM

Rays of light come seeping in to Wayne's hotel room. He slowly opens his eyes and reaches for his phone. He checks the time. He groans and tosses the phone back on to the night stand. He stands up and throws on his usual jeans and t-shirt then digs to the bottom of his suitcase. He feels around for a moment then pulls out the small black box. He remembers the day he meant to give it to Aeris. He remembers reaching into his pocket just before Aeris kissed him. He smiles and shoves the box into his jacket pocket. He grabs his phone and heads to his rental car. He fastens his seat belt and drives out of the parking lot. He didn't have a lot he had to do today but what he did have to do, he had been obligated to do for a long time. He grabs his phone and finds Leo's number.

"Hello?" Wayne hears from the other end of the call. "Hey Leo, its Wayne." He starts. "Look, I need to talk to you about something. You home?" He hears Leo sigh. "I'm at work right now but I get off at 5. Aeris is home, though. She was saying she was gunna call you today."

"Leo, I respect the fact that you're working, but this is something I need to get off my chest before I do anything else. Is there any way I could come in and talk to you?" he hears Leo set the phone down and talks to someone for a moment. Leo picks the phone back up. "Yeah, Aeris and I were going to go to lunch at 12, you could come with us if you want and we could talk then. Well, after me and Aeris give you some good news." He says in a somber tone.

Wayne scratches the back of his head. "I'd love to come, but if it's okay I need to talk to you in private." Wayne says. Leo sighs again. "Okay, we'll talk after lunch. I need to talk to _you_ privately as well." Wayne starts to say goodbye, but is silenced by the sound of the phone hanging up. He looks at his phone then tosses it in to the passenger's seat. What was Leo's problem? Eh, it didn't matter. He looks at his phone again. He didn't want to get the new IPhone, but after he did he was glad to have it. He thinks for a moment then drives to the local GameStop. If he was going to have an IPhone, he might as well make it not so bland looking. He walks in the store ad go's strait to the accessories stand by the counter. He looks over it until he spots what he's after. A red IPhone case with the World of Warcraft horde symbol on the back. He turns and places it on the check-out counter. He looks up to find Leo standing behind the counter.

"Leo, you work at GameStop?" he asks. Leo turns around looks at Wayne. "No, I'm robbing it right now." He says sarcastically. "The case will be 19.99." Wayne pulls out his wallet and pays for the case. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you at work. But I didn't know you worked _here_." Wayne starts. "The discounts must be nice."

Leo calks his head to the left. "Yeah, it's nice being able to afford new games, and know about new consoles that are coming out so I don't make another Boxorz-o-Roxors mistake." The two laugh and go on talking about the new games that were revealed at E3. They had just started talking about God of War: Ascension when they heard the bell on the front door ring. They turn to see Aeris walking up to the counter.

Leo smiles at her. "Hey Aeris, I invited Wayne to come to lunch with us." He tells her. She turns to Wayne and hugs him. "You better have." She says, letting go of Wayne. The three friends walk out to Wayne's car, after deciding that he was driving, and choose to go to the local Outback Steakhouse. They go in and get seated. Leo slides into the booth and gestures for Aeris to sit next to him, only to have her ignore him and slide next to Wayne. He sighs and grabs a menu. "So Wayne, since you're here we have to tell you something." Aeris says, while turning to face him. 'Leo and I talked about your apartment problem, well I talked and Leo nodded and said yes to everything I said." Leo shrinks a bit in his seat, still holding his menu. "But, well, we decided to let you move in with us."

"What?" Wayne and Leo say simultaneously. Wayne's "what" sounding more joyful. "When did we agree to that?" asks Leo, putting his menu down. Aeris folds her arms and leans back. "_We_ did when you decided you wanted to ignore me and nod whenever I said anything. Besides, it would be awesome to have the three of us living together. Us three being best friends and all. And why are being so defensive?" she asks.

"Because I don't like it when you make those kinds of decisions without me." he says, trying to keep his voice down. "You "agreed" to everything I said so I didn't make the decision by myself." Leo angrily picks his menu back up. "So what do _you_ think Wayne?" Aeris asks. "I would love to." He says wile going in to hug her. "You guys are the best."

Aeris and Wayne talk for the duration of their stay about when he was going to bring his stuff to his new home and what to expect from the neighbors (Who are totals ass-holes) while Leo sits quietly at his end of the table. Leo looks up from his meal and notices his friend slowly moving closer together. That was it. Leo wasn't going to stand by and loose the one thing he ever truly wanted to Wayne again. He stands up and grabs Wayne by his jacket sleeve and pulls him out the back door.

"What do you nee-"Wayne starts to say, but is cut off when Leo grabs him by the collar and pins him against the wall. Leo was a lot stronger than he had imagined. Wayne's eyes widen and his heart begins to race as Leo begins to scream in his face. "You bastard!" he starts. "You knew that I liked Aeris. You promised me that you wouldn't make a move towards her, but you lied! I stood by as you stole the girl of my dreams, but not this time! I got a second chance, and I'm not going to let you fuck it up for me!" he throws Wayne to the ground. He lands on his side with a loud thud. "It's fine that you're going to live with us." Leo says while walking towards Wayne. He kneels down and looks Wayne in the face. "But you stay away from her." Leo stands up and walks back into the building. Wayne stands up and brushes off his jacket. He walks in the building and tosses a handful of dollar bills on to the table.

"I got to go." He says, ears drooping. "There's some cab fare, I'll see you at home." Aeris turns and watches Wayne walk out the front doors. Leo looks at her and shrugs. "Must have a lot to do today." He says, smiling.

Wayne walks out to his car. He didn't think that Leo liked Aeris that much. He starts the car and drives to the nearest Barn's and Noble. A book and some coffee would make him feel better. Not a lot, but partially. He walks in and grabs a black book with big red lettering that spelled out "The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe". He buys the book and heads over to the Starbucks section of the store. He orders his drink from the worker and sits down. He waits for the woman to make his drink. He looks the woman over, a tall, slender, attractive black and white feline. He hears her call his name. He walks over to the counter and grabs his beverage.

"Edgar Allen Poe, huh?" he hears her ask. "He's my favorite poet." Wayne stets his book and his drink down on a table. He turns and looks at her. "Really?" he asks. She nods. "He's mine, too. What's your favorite thing that he wrote?"

"The Murderers in the Rue Morgue." She answers, tilting her head down and smiling. Wayne's Heart skips a beat. His favorite Poe story. "That's my favorite as well." He says, walking back to the counter. "Hi, I'm Wayne." He says to the woman.

She looks up at him and smiles. "I'm Chloe."


	4. Chloe

January 4th 2012, 7:23 PM

Aeris pushes the home button on her X Box Controller. She checks the time and pushes the button again to return to their game of Death match in Modern Warfare 3. Had Wayne gone back to the hotel? She hadn't heard from him since he left the Outback. She turns to Leo.

"Did Wayne say when he would be back?" she asks. "No, he didn't say where he was going _or_ when he was coming home." He says without averting his gaze from the TV. Aeris sighs and attempts to focus on the game. What had Wayne and Leo talked about? Why did Wayne look so sad when he left? Why did he leave so fast? She notices that Leo had killed her 3 times. "C'mon Aeris, you giving up?" Leo asks. Aeris turns to the clock hanging on their wall. It reads 8:01. "Doesn't look like I need to try." She replies playfully. Leo smiles and moves closer to Aeris. She rests her head on his shoulder and he puts his arm over hers.

"I hope Wayne's okay." She says while turning off the X Box. Leo puts his other arm around Aeris as she turns off the TV. "He's probably either on his way or waiting until tomorrow to move in." He tells her. She moves Leo's arms off of herself and stands up. "Well, I might as well go to bed then. If he does show up I'll talk to him tomorrow. She walks to her room. Just as her door closes, the front door opens to a familiar black-furred feline.

January 4th 2012, 8:10 PM

Wayne walks up the third flight of stairs leading to his new home. He thinks back to his earlier conversation with Chloe and smiles. After a couple of hours of getting to know each other, he learned that they shared the same favorite movie, Saving Private Ryan, and music groups, Escape the fate and Linkin Park. She had also agreed to go to dinner with him the following night. He walks up to the apartment door and sets his bag on the ground. He opens the door and sees Leo sitting on the couch. He freezes. He still had some things he had to say to him that he didn't get to before. He picks up his bag and slowly walks in to the apartment.

"Hey Leo." He starts. Leo turns to him. "I just wanted to apologize for when we were younger. I never meant to get with Aeris, she just sort of…" Leo interrupts him. "Wayne, it's all good, I'm sorry for earlier. I got out of line; I shouldn't have done what I did." Wayne moves over to the couch. He sets his bag on the table and takes off his back pack then sits down. "It's okay, Leo. You did what you had to do to be with the girl you love."

Wayne puts Leo in a head-lock. "But if you ever do that to me again…" He pulls out his black Walther P22 Q with a red spade engraved on the handle. "Well, let's just say you _won't _get a chance at Aeris." He smiles and puts his gun back in the holster strapped to his chest under his jacket. He playfully noogies Leo and lets him go. "I'm just kidding with you!" he says when he notices Leo staring at the butt end of his gun.

"Where have you been all day?" Leo asks. Wayne smiles and pulls his new book out from his backpack and sets it on the table. "I went to the Barns and Noble." He says. Leo leans back on the couch. "And you stayed there all day?" Wayne smiles. "Well, I met this girl at the Starbucks. We talked, had some coffee." He leans back on the couch as well. "I got a date with her tomorrow night." Leo shoots forward. "You have a date, what's her name?" Wayne closes his eyes and continues to smile. "Chloe." He leans forward and rests his head on his hands. Leo smiles and pats Wayne on the back. "Well, you're probably tired. Your room is the last door on the left."

Wayne turns to his friend and smiles back. "Thanks bro." He stands up and walks in to his room. It was a decent size, considering the size of the apartment. There was a queen sized bed at the far wall and a dresser in the left corner. The walls were bare, but that was sure to change. He sets his bag on the ground and crawls in the bed. He thinks back to the book store. He remembers the smell of the coffee, the sounds from the media department, but he falls asleep with the image of Chloe's face in his head.

January 5th, 2012 8:17 AM

Wayne slowly opens his eyes and reaches for his phone. He checks the time (like he does every morning) then stands up. He opens his bag and grabs a pair of jeans, a black t-shirt and his jacket. He grabs his pistol and holster from the night stand and straps it to his chest. He jams his phone in his pocket and walks out the door. He walks into the kitchen to find Aeris and Leo sitting at the table.

"Good morning." He says sleepily to them. They returned the greeting and he sits at the table. "Where were you so late?" Aeris asks a sleepy look on her face. Wayne scratches his head. "I was at the barns and noble." He says. Aeris calks her head to the right. "All day?"

Wayne sighs and leans back. "Yes, I was there all day." Aeris begins to ask him why he was there. He cuts her off. "I was talking to this girl; I got a date with her tonight." She looks up at him, a betrayed look on her face. "What?"

"Yeah, I'm taking her to dinner tonight." He stands up and moves towards the door. "I have to go pick up my _nice _clothes." Aeris looks down at the table. "Yeah, have fun." Wayne walks out the door. Aeris puts her head in her hands. Leo notices the faint sound of Aeris crying. He slides over and puts his arm around her.

"You okay?" he asks. She try's her best to hide her tears. "yeah." She wipes her face. "I'm fine." She pulls away from him. Leo puts his hand on her shoulder. "I know when you're lying to me." Aeris sighs "I thought Wayne liked me, but apparently he doesn't." she rests her head on Leo's chest. Leo thinks for a moment. If he was going to be with Aeris, now is his chance. "Well, I now someone who likes you." Aeris turns her head to face him. "Who is tha-?" She gets cut off as Leo leans in and kisses her. Her eyes widen, and then darken.

She pushes him out of his chair. He looks up at her, surprised. "What the fuck are you doing?" she yells at him. He goes to stand up, only to have Aeris push him back down with her foot. He had forgotten how scary Aeris can be when she's mad. And she wasn't just mad, she was furious. "Aeris, I'm sorry, I-." He stands up. "I…" he takes a deep breath. "I love you."

Aeris stares at him. Did he just say what she thinks he did? Her eyes slowly close. "Leo…" she walks over to him and hugs him. He looks confused. After a moment he slowly wraps his arms around her. Did she feel the same way? He thinks about how sad she looked when Wayne left. Was she trying to be sympathetic? It didn't matter. Aeris was in his arms, and he was happy.

January 5th, 2012 6:35 PM

Wayne walks in to the apartment, his black sport jacket draped over a wire clothes hanger. "I can't believe that price, damn dry cleaner." He mumbles. He jumps when he notices movement in the living room area. He smiles when he sees Aeris tightly wrapped in Leos arms, both fast asleep.

"Well, looks like we're all happy." He says quietly to himself. He checks his phone as he walks into his room. 6:40, he has to pick Chloe up in 20 minutes. He takes off his jacket and t-shirt and puts on a red button-up shirt and his sport jacket. He grabs his red spade cufflinks and walks out to the used black Mazda RX8 he had purchased earlier that day. He smiles as he sits down. It was no Lamborghini, but it was his car; and in the short time he had it he already loved it.

He checks the small slip of paper with Chloe's address on it. He finds her house and walks to the door. After knocking the door opens to an older gentleman. "Hello, I'm looking for Chloe. Are you her roommate?" he asks, shaking the man's hand. "Chloe." The man shouts into the house. After a moment Chloe comes out the door in a black dress. She kisses the man on the cheek. "Bye dad." She says as she Wayne offers her his arm. She takes it and they walk to the car. He opens the door for her and jogs to the driver's side. The buckle their seat belts. "You live with your parents?" Wayne asks.

Chloe smiles and looks at him. "Just until I find an apartment." She says back. The two trade small talk as they drive to the restaurant they decided to go to the night before. They have their food and walk back out to the car. "So, Chloe." Wayne starts. "I was wondering if you wanted to come to my place and watch a movie or something." She brushes her hair out of her face. "Yeah, that would be great. She takes off her dress, revealing the pair of jeans and white tank top she was wearing underneath.

They walk up the three flights of stairs leading to the apartment. Wayne stops in front of the door and turns to Chloe. "My roommates might be asleep on the couch so we might have to watch the movie in my room. Is that ok?" she drapes her arms over his shoulders. "That would be great." She leans in closer to him. "You know, I don't want you to think I'm a slut. And I have never done this on the first date. But I _really_ like you Wayne, so I'm just gunna go for it." She leans in farther and kisses him.

Wayne is surprised. The last time he felt like this was when Aeris had kissed him. He starts thinking. He really liked Chloe, too. He wraps his arms around her and closes his eyes. They pull away. Wayne smiles and embraces her. "It's pretty late; you want to stay here tonight?" She pulls away from him. "Yeah, that would be great."


	5. New problems

January 6th 2012, 1:50 AM

Aeris' eyes slowly open. She sits up and scratches the back of her head. She turns to see Leo, still asleep on the couch. She smiles and messes up his hair. He quietly moans and rolls over. She walks into her bedroom and shuts the door. How long had she been asleep? It didn't matter; she got to spend the day with Leo. (For the most part) She settles down in her bed. After a short period of time she hears the door to the next room open then closes shortly after.

"Yeah, Yeah. I got it." She hears Wayne say. She hears the front door shut. She throws off her blanket and go's out her door. Who would Wayne be talking to so early? She reaches for the doorknob. She hears Wayne on the other side of the door. "Yeah, I'll get it done." The door opens, causing Aeris to stumble backwards. Wayne's hand shoots out and grabs her wrist, saving her from falling. "Hey bud. Why you up so early?" Aeris pulls her hand away. "I heard you get up, wanted to see if you were okay."

Wayne scratches the back of his neck. "I got an important phone call." He says, diverting his eyes from hers. Aeris crosses her arms. "At two in the morning?" Wayne suddenly becomes hostile towards her. "Why do you need to know?" He asks her. She backs away from him. "Sorry, just curious." Wayne looks at her, his eyes soften. He pulls up one of the kitchen chairs and puts his head in his hands. "No Aeris, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that." He looks up at her. "But the less you know the better." He stands up and starts for his room. Aeris walks to her room. What did he mean? Was he going somewhere? She lies back in her bed. Whatever it was, she was going to find out.

January 6th 2012, 8:17 AM

Aeris' phone alarm clock sounds. She grabs it and shuts it off without moving her head from the pillow. I write sins not tragedies were her favorite song, but it always sounds like shit when it wakes her up. She rolls on to her stomach. After her talk with Wayne, she had problems getting back to sleep. She hears a sizzling sound and smells bacon. Her mouth begins to water. She gets up and heads to the kitchen.

"Good morning." She hears from the kitchen. She sees Wayne standing over the stove. Bacon on one side, eggs on the other. "Good morning." She says back. She turns toward the living room and notices a black furred individual sitting at the kitchen table. She smiles when she figures out who it is. "Hi, you must be Chloe." She says shaking her hand. "I'm Aeris."

Chloe smiles back. "That's me; it's nice to meet you Aeris." They hear a thud from the living room. Aeris chuckles. "I guess Leo never left the couch." Leo stands up. "I smell bacon." He says his eyes half closed. Aeris and Chloe laugh and Leo takes one of the two remaining chairs. He introduces himself to Chloe and begins talking to her about the new Gears of War.

Wayne dumps the two pans of food on to two separate plates. "There you go." He says, dropping the pans in the sink. Leo bolts to the food and begins loading a plate. Aeris starts towards the counter but stops when she sees Wayne walk out the door. She walks over and catches it before it closes. She sticks her head out. "Wayne." She shouts down the hallway. "Aren't you going to eat anything?"

He stops and turns around. Aeris notices him shove a small black cylinder in to his jacket pocket. "Not, right now, I have to be somewhere. I'll get something on the way." He turns and walks down the stairs.

Aeris bolts to her room and throws on a pair of jeans and her black Three Days Grace t-shirt. She slips on her shoes, grabs her longboard and walks to the front door. "Where you going?" Leo asks with a mouth full of eggs. "Just going to run down to the Starbucks." She lies, walking to the door. Leo looks at her excitedly. He tries to ask her to bring him an iced coffee but is cut off by a loud no, followed by the sound of the door shutting.

Leo sighs and turns to Chloe. "So…you want to see something cool."

January 6th 2012, 9:30 AM

Wayne screws his silencer on to his p22 and shoves it back in to its holster at his chest. He hears his phone ring. He grabs it and holds it to his ear. "This is Wayne." He says. A female voice sound on the other end of the call. "Where are you, spade?" the woman asks. Wayne smiles. "You don't have to check up on me, you know that I'll get the job done." He says coldly. He hears the woman sigh. "Call me when it's done." Wayne smiles Again. "You know me we…" he's cut off by the sound of the call ending. He tosses the phone to the passenger's seat. "Bitch." He mutters.

Wayne pulls over in front of a large office building. He looks up at the company's name. MIL-Tech, exactly where he needed to be. He walks through the revolving door and then over one of the two elevators. He pushes the button for the 25th floor. Multiple things were going thru Wayne's mind. He shakes his head. He had to focus. The doors open. He walks down the hallway until he reaches an office door. The nameplate read "Stephen Jorgensen." The man he needed to see.

He opens the door and closes it behind him. He turns to see a man that looked to be in his 50's. "Hello is there anything I can do for you?" he asks as Wayne slips on a pair of black gloves. Wayne draws his pistol and points it at the man. "Just one thing." He says before firing three rounds into the center of his chest.

Aeris pumps her longboard down the street. Where had Wayne gone? Wherever he was, she was going to find him. She looks across the street and notices Wayne walking out of an office building. She picks up her board and jogs over to his car.

"Hey!" she shouts to him. He looks up at her. His eyes widen. "What are you doing here?" he asks, quickly opening the passenger side door and shoving her inside. He tosses her board in the back and slides in to the driver's seat and starts back the way he came. She smiles at him. "I was curious about where you were going." She says.

Wayne angrily turns to her. "You followed me?" he shouts. Aeris shrinks in her seat. "Not exactly…." She says quietly. Wayne's voice gets even louder. "Don't you remember what I told you last night? The less you know the better!"

Aeris was both shocked and scared. Wayne had never been that angry at her. He was her best friend, but right now she was scared to death of him. Wayne notices His friends fear. His ears droop and his eyes soften. "God Aeris, I'm sorry…" he starts. Aeris turns away from him. "You can just let me out hear." She says.

Wayne gives her a confused look. "Don't you want a ride home?" he asks. Aeris shakes her head. "I promised Leo I would get him an iced coffee from Starbucks." She lies. Wayne puts his hand on her shoulder. "I'll give you a ride there."

Aeris pulls away from his hand and raises her voice. "Please just pull over!" Wayne's ears droop again and he pulls over. Aeris hops out and grabs her longboard. Wayne rolls down the passenger window. "Bud, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you like that. I've just been really stressed lately." He rubs the back of his neck. "I would tell you everything you want to know, I just don't want you to get hurt. It's for the best, I promise." He smiles at her. "I'll see you later." He rolls up the window.

As he pulls away Aeris notices something strange, three spent bullet casings in one of the cup holders. Why would Wayne have those? Aeris drops her longboard and starts towards the apartment. Wayne was up to something strange and she was determined to figure out what it was.


	6. Chapter 6

January 11th 2012, 12:42 AM

Aeris rolls over in her bed. She can't stop thinking about Wayne. Why did he have the spent shells? Why was he so defensive about everything? She rolls over again. Why did she care so much? She shouldn't be so worried about him, but she couldn't help it. She sits up and rubs her eyes. She slips out of bed, puts on her jacket and walks to the kitchen. She hears Wayne's voice outside as she fills a glass with water.

"I got it, I'll get it done." There's a short pause. "Hey, I got the last one. Didn't I?" another pause. "Whatever, I got it." The front door opens. "Bitch." Aeris hears him mumble. He looks at Aeris and smiles. "Hey bud. What's up?" He says, patting her on the back.

She finishes her water and gives him a hollow look and moves towards the door. "Just needed some fresh air." She says before walking outside. Was Wayne just getting home? She thinks for a moment. Chloe was here, why wasn't he? She walks down the stairs and into the parking lot. She leans against the wall. She thinks about the shells and looks towards Wayne's car. She starts walking towards the car but stops halfway. She shouldn't get in to Wayne's stuff. The turns away, but her curiosity makes her turn back. She looks into the window of the car and sees a small red light start to flash.

Wayne takes off his jacket and removes his pistol from his chest. He looks at his bed and sees Chloe's side slowly rising and falling. He smiles and removes his keys from his pocket. He goes to set them on his night stand but notices the silent alarm light flashing. He looks out his widow at the car and notices a person by the window. He turns and runs out the bedroom door. He quickly opens the balcony door and vaults over the railing. He hits the ground and thinks back to his training, where he was forced to practice advanced parkour moves for hours on end. He removes a knife from its sheath around his ankle and sprints towards the intruder. After reaching a decent range, he hurls the knife at the figure.

Aeris backs away from the car. There wasn't anything weird in it. She hears a thud and turns around. Her eyes widen and she ducks when she sees an object flying at her. The object fly's over her head and sticks in the power pole on the far side of the car. She turns and notices that the object was a large knife. She backs up turns and try's to run but is stopped when she is tackled, then pinned to the ground. She struggles to get the person off of her, but stops when she hears a familiar voice. "Aeris?"

"Wayne?" she asks back. The weight on her wrists vanishes and she hauls herself off the ground. She brushes herself off and looks up. "What the hell are you doing!?" she yells.

Wayne's face darkens. "I could ask you the same thing!" he yells back. "What are you doing with my car?"

"Why did you throw a knife at me?" Wayne looks at her and lowers his head.

"I thought you were some dude breaking in to my car."

Aeris walks around the car and pulls the knife from the pole. "And the first thing you thought of was to throw a knife?"

Wayne turns and starts towards the apartment. "You would do the same." He says over his shoulder. After a minute or so Aeris hears the door to the apartment close. She crosses her arms and leans against the car. She looks at the knife; it was a decent size with a small red spade on the handle. She turns it over in her hands then stuffs it in to her jacket pocket. She is surprised to find that it fits perfectly. She starts towards the apartment when she hears light footsteps behind her. She tries to turn around, but before she can a hand grasping a damp rag covers her mouth. She fights for a moment then goes limp.


End file.
